Catfe Review

Our Rating

10
Coffee

8
Food

8
Price

8
Location

10
Venue

10
Staff

Vancouver isn’t known for being the most pet friendly city in Canada – we’ve all either had problems, or know someone that has had problems finding a property rental that allows one to have a four legged companion under the same roof. So if you’re like me and you live in an apartment block that has a “no pets” policy you’re now in luck, as Vancouver has it’s first “Cat Cafe”. Have a moggy with your mocha, a feline with your frappucino or a tea with your tabby. Our Catfe review is a purrfect insight into what to expect there!

Coffee

8oz Latte – $4.50
Moja beans are used for this more than respectable latte. The espresso taste was bright and balanced and the milk steamed perfectly. I was devastated to find out that shortly after my visit they seemed to have perfected the ‘cat face’ latte art, but my rosetta was nice anyways! If I had to complain about one thing – the coffee was served in a take away cup. It’s still early days but I’d love to see some branded mugs being used eventually.

Food

Lemon Square
Catfe is not a cafe you’d really get lunch from, so as such there’s nothing more than cakes, cookies and pastries. There’s a nice selection and many of them are feline themed, which is a great touch.
My Lemon Square was as amazing as the first 50 that I’ve eaten and I’d highly encourage you to find a location that sells them, support a local producer and stuff one into your facehole pronto! It’s a great marriage of zesty lemon frosting and moist biscuit that is consistently amazing.

Location

Catfe is in a location called Crosstown, in the Tinseltown movie theater building. It can be kind of difficult to find, as the building is a bit of a maze, but if you find the food court on the first floor you should be able to find their venue. There are plenty of buses nearby, lots of parking and a parkade thats usually crammed full of car sharing cars such as Car2go and Evo.

Venue

Ok this is the part you all really want to read about. The cafe itself is in a small side room. You order your food and beverage(s), pay your entry fee ($5) and then enter the main room where the cats reside. There’s a giant wall of shelves, covered in toys, nooks, climbing posts and video screens. There are several tables to sit at as well as loads of chairs and stools.

Frolicking in among all of this are a collection of cats, all of whom are up for adoption. There are rules for interacting with them, but for the most part you’re able to pet, play and pander over them as much as you like, as long as you’re not annoying them. The cat lineup is constantly changing, so the revisit value of this cafe is endless.

Some of the cats are aloof and prefer not to be bothered, others will spend time playing with you, fussing around your feet or if you’re lucky, they’ll jump up on your lap for some petting.

My one word of warning though – if you’re in any way a cat person it’s going to be very difficult to resist the urge of adopting one of these rascals! (FYI – I had to resist the urge to steal the above cat in the photo (Dexter), as he was just far too charming!)

Bathrooms

There are no bathrooms in the Catfe, but there are bathrooms in the shopping mall. They’re not the greatest, but I can’t really count them as they’re not run by the staff at Catfe. For this reason I’ll not be putting a score for the bathrooms in this Catfe review.

Staff

From the moment you walk in, to the moment you walk out, you’re treated like family by some of the nicest staff I’ve ever met. Huge smiles, amazing enthusiasm, great jokes and fantastically polite at all times made my Catfe trip such a great one. I honestly don’t think they could have been better; they set the standard for how staff in cafes should act. Well done, ladies!

Footnote

Please be aware that the Catfe is very busy, so it’s always best to book your visit before going. Go on, book it, book it right meow!

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The Vancouver Coffee Snob is the highest rated coffee reviewer there has ever been on this site. Which makes sense really, as he's the only one posting on here.
His reviews should, at best, not be trusted and there's no substance to the rumor that he has a jar of instant coffee in his kitchen.
Ultimately his heart is in the right place. Physically that is... he's actually a bit of imbecile in person.